The children have become authors lately - writing their own stories in their I Am An Author books. They draw pictures and then practice sounding out the words phonetically. It's a very difficult job stretching out all of the sounds, hearing them in words, and then putting them down in print. They have done very well for their early attempts at 'kidwriting'.

Partner Talking

The first part is to partner talk. During partner talk the students have a chance to discuss what they are going to draw and 'kidwrite' about. For students this collaboration is an important step to plan out their thinking so that they don't get to the table and not have any idea what they are going to write about. If they are stuck, then their partner can help them think up some ideas.

"Kidwriting"

After the children have had a chance to plan their thinking by partner talking, they head to the tables with their books. They draw their pictures and then "kidwrite" by stretching out the sounds as best as they can. We have been practicing letters and sounds together with a number of songs, big books, and smaller booklets.

The children are all at different stages and abilities when it comes to trying to write. For those students who have already made the connection between alphabet letter symbols and their sounds, writing what they hear is a little bit easier. They can often get the first letter (especially if it's a consonant) and sometimes some of the other consonants in a word. Vowels are a lot harder! For those students who still don't know most of the alphabet sounds, this is a much tougher job. They are encouraged to look around the room and copy letters or words that they know to represent their stories. Every attempt is encouraged and celebrated! With more practice with letters and sounds as well as lots of opportunities to write, they will continue to improve. It is exciting to watch their development!

﻿Partner Reading﻿

After "kidwriting", it is important to celebrate their attempts by sharing their work with me and also with their peers. They read back their finished stories to their partner (or to me) using their finger to track their printing. Listening to their partner is also an important skill. When done, the listener must then give a compliment to their partner. It can be about their writing, their reading, their illustrations, their story, etc. Positive comments are "bucket fillers"!

Story Criteria

It's always easier to do things when we know what the criteria and expectations are. Below is our story criteria that we use when the children draw pictures as well as when they write.

We were entertained by SAM2 (Scrap Arts Music) on Friday. This was the second of our Performing Arts Concert Series. They make instruments from salvaged and recycled materials. It was interesting to learn about how they made them and to hear them perform with them. Ask your child about the different kinds of sounds some of these instruments made. Some of them were loud!! One of our classmates was even brought up to help play on the large wooden-planked xylophone. Enjoy the photos.

Making Heart Animals

Making Friendship Chains

Mailing our Valentine cards(It's harder than it sounds. It's very difficult to match the right name and put it in the right holder.)

Playing 'Pass the Valentine'

We played 'Pass the Valentine' on Valentine's Day. Every child had a clothes peg. They had to pass the heart around the circle but they weren't allowed to touch it with their hands. It required great small muscle control to open and close that clothes peg without dropping the heart! Lots of concentration - and laughter!!